Logo
ScienceStack
Table of Contents
Fetching ...
Sign In

Computing with Smart Rings: A Systematic Literature Review

Zeyu Wang, Ruotong Yu, Xiangyang Wang, Jiexin Ding, Jiankai Tang, Jun Fang, Zhe He, Zhuojun Li, Tobias Röddiger, Weiye Xu, Xiyuxing Zhang, huan-ang Gao, Nan Gao, Chun Yu, Yuanchun Shi, Yuntao Wang

TL;DR

This systematic literature review consolidates 206 smart-ring publications into a four-area taxonomy (interaction-input, interaction-output, passive sensing-in-body, passive sensing-out-body). It defines a four-layer framework (Application, Phenomena, Fundamental Phenomena, Sensors) to map sensing modalities to use cases, and it details extensive gesture-, trajectory-, and text-entry-based input modalities, along with haptic feedback and perceptual augmentation. The review highlights progress across heart-rate, SpO2, BP, sleep, and activity monitoring, as well as sign-language recognition, handwriting, and gesture-based authentication, while identifying gaps in open platforms, raw data access, self-contained designs, and cross-device adoption. The authors argue for closer alignment with real-world deployment, better power management, culturally aware design, and scalable longitudinal studies to translate smart rings from lab prototypes to ubiquitous devices with meaningful health, accessibility, and interaction benefits.

Abstract

A smart ring is a wearable electronic device in the form of a ring that incorporates diverse sensors and computing technologies to perform a variety of functions. Designed for use with fingers, smart rings are capable of sensing more subtle and abundant hand movements, thus making them a good platform for interaction. Meanwhile, fingers are abundant with blood vessels and nerve endings and accustomed to wearing rings, providing an ideal site for continuous health monitoring through smart rings, which combine comfort with the ability to capture vital biometric data, making them suitable for all-day wear. We collected in total of 206 smart ring-related publications and conducted a systematic literature review. We provide a taxonomy regarding the sensing and feedback modalities, applications, and phenomena. We review and categorize these literatures into four main areas: (1) interaction - input, (2) interaction - output, (3) passive sensing - in body feature, (4) passive sensing - out body activity. This comprehensive review highlights the current advancements within the field of smart ring and identifies potential areas for future research.

Computing with Smart Rings: A Systematic Literature Review

TL;DR

This systematic literature review consolidates 206 smart-ring publications into a four-area taxonomy (interaction-input, interaction-output, passive sensing-in-body, passive sensing-out-body). It defines a four-layer framework (Application, Phenomena, Fundamental Phenomena, Sensors) to map sensing modalities to use cases, and it details extensive gesture-, trajectory-, and text-entry-based input modalities, along with haptic feedback and perceptual augmentation. The review highlights progress across heart-rate, SpO2, BP, sleep, and activity monitoring, as well as sign-language recognition, handwriting, and gesture-based authentication, while identifying gaps in open platforms, raw data access, self-contained designs, and cross-device adoption. The authors argue for closer alignment with real-world deployment, better power management, culturally aware design, and scalable longitudinal studies to translate smart rings from lab prototypes to ubiquitous devices with meaningful health, accessibility, and interaction benefits.

Abstract

A smart ring is a wearable electronic device in the form of a ring that incorporates diverse sensors and computing technologies to perform a variety of functions. Designed for use with fingers, smart rings are capable of sensing more subtle and abundant hand movements, thus making them a good platform for interaction. Meanwhile, fingers are abundant with blood vessels and nerve endings and accustomed to wearing rings, providing an ideal site for continuous health monitoring through smart rings, which combine comfort with the ability to capture vital biometric data, making them suitable for all-day wear. We collected in total of 206 smart ring-related publications and conducted a systematic literature review. We provide a taxonomy regarding the sensing and feedback modalities, applications, and phenomena. We review and categorize these literatures into four main areas: (1) interaction - input, (2) interaction - output, (3) passive sensing - in body feature, (4) passive sensing - out body activity. This comprehensive review highlights the current advancements within the field of smart ring and identifies potential areas for future research.

Paper Structure

This paper contains 71 sections, 1 equation, 9 figures, 7 tables.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Review Methodology
  3. Study Overview - Taxonomy
  4. Application
  5. Sensors and Phenomena
  6. Hand Terminology and Ring Wearing Position
  7. Interaction - input
  8. Gesture
  9. Within-hand Gesture
  10. Hand-to-body Gesture
  11. Hand-to-surface Gesture
  12. Hand-to-object Gesture
  13. Encumbered Gesture
  14. In-air Gesture
  15. Trajectory
  16. ...and 56 more sections

Figures (9)

  • Figure 1: Annual publication count of smart ring research (total and per research area) from 2000 to 2024. One paper in the "interaction - input" category was published in 1997.
  • Figure 2: Taxonomy and Review Outline.
  • Figure 3: Flow diagram showing how different phenomena can be inferred. The white boxes represent “fundamental” phenomena that can be directly sensed and from which all other phenomena can be derived.
  • Figure 4: Hand anatomy (a), degrees of freedom (b) and unifying terminology for the wearing position of rings (c).
  • Figure 5: Section outline for interaction input.
  • ...and 4 more figures